A. G. Hallar

Characterization of Airborne Microbial Communities at a High-Elevation Site and Their Potential To Act as Atmospheric Ice Nuclei

ABSTRACT Bacteria and fungi are ubiquitous in the atmosphere. The diversity and abundance of airborne microbes may be strongly influenced by atmospheric conditions or even influence atmospheric conditions themselves by acting as ice nucleators. However, few comprehensive studies have described the diversity and dynamics of airborne bacteria and fungi based on culture-independent techniques. We document atmospheric microbial abundance, community composition, and ice nucleation at a high-elevation site in northwestern Colorado. We used a standard small-subunit rRNA gene Sanger sequencing approach for total microbial community analysis and a bacteria-specific 16S rRNA bar-coded pyrosequencing approach (4,864 sequences total). During the 2-week collection period, total microbial abundances were relatively constant, ranging from 9.6 × 105 to 6.6 × 106 cells m−3 of air, and the diversity and composition of the airborne microbial communities were also relatively static. Bacteria and fungi were nearly equivalent, and members of the proteobacterial groups Burkholderiales and Moraxellaceae (particularly the genus Psychrobacter) were dominant. These taxa were not always the most abundant in freshly fallen snow samples collected at this site. Although there was minimal variability in microbial abundances and composition within the atmosphere, the number of biological ice nuclei increased significantly during periods of high relative humidity. However, these changes in ice nuclei numbers were not associated with changes in the relative abundances of the most commonly studied ice-nucleating bacteria.

Observations of Ice Crystal Habits with a Scanning Polarimetric W-Band Radar at Slant Linear Depolarization Ratio Mode

AbstractScanning polarimetric W-band radar data were evaluated for the purpose of identifying predominant ice hydrometeor habits. Radar and accompanying cloud microphysical measurements were conducted during the Storm Peak Laboratory Cloud Property Validation Experiment held in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, during the winter season of 2010/11. The observed ice hydrometeor habits ranged from pristine and rimed dendrites/stellars to aggregates, irregulars, graupel, columns, plates, and particle mixtures. The slant 45° linear depolarization ratio (SLDR) trends as a function of the radar elevation angle are indicative of the predominant hydrometeor habit/shape. For planar particles, SLDR values increase from values close to the radar polarization cross coupling of about −21.8 dB at zenith viewing to maximum values at slant viewing. These maximum values depend on predominant aspect ratio and bulk density of hydrometeors and also show some sensitivity to particle characteristic size. The highest observed SLDRs w...

Large Contribution of Coarse Mode to Aerosol Microphysical and Optical Properties: Evidence from Ground-Based Observations of a Transpacific Dust Outbreak at a High-Elevation North American Site

AbstractThis work is motivated by previous studies of transatlantic transport of Saharan dust and the observed quasi-static nature of coarse mode aerosol with a volume median diameter (VMD) of approximately 3.5 μm. The authors examine coarse mode contributions from transpacific transport of dust to North American aerosol properties using a dataset collected at the high-elevation Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) and the nearby Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility. Collected ground-based data are complemented by quasi-global model simulations and satellite and ground-based observations. The authors identify a major dust event associated mostly with a transpacific plume (about 65% of near-surface aerosol mass) in which the coarse mode with moderate (~3 μm) VMD is distinct and contributes substantially to total aerosol volume (up to 70%) and scattering (up to 40%). The results demonstrate that the identified plume at the SPL site has a considerable fraction of supermicron particles (VMD ~3 μm) a...